Which to use
“ersetze” is a verb and “ersetzte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,088
- “ersetze” frequency rank
- #24,702
- “ersetzte” frequency rank
- 62790
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ersetze | ersetzte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ersetzen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs ersetzt |
Where the eye mixes ersetze and ersetzte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ersetze runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against ersetzte's 8 (VCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ersetze and ersetzte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ersetze is [ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡sə] while ersetzte is [ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡stə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62790, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ersetze is recorded at frequency rank #38,088, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡sə]. ersetzte is at rank #24,702, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡stə].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 62790, this pair ranks #700,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ersetze vs ersetzte
Shared letters: erstz. Private to "ersetze": -. Private to "ersetzte": -.
"ersetze" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "ersetzte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ersetze" and "ersetzte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "ersetze" or "ersetzte" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ersetze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ersetzte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #700,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ersetze" and "ersetzte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ersetze vs ersetzten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #700,139 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.